Architect moves into renovated fire station with space still available

It’s like touring two completely different buildings walking through the new home of Stone Group Architects.

And that’s by design.

The main floor of the renovated historic former library and fire station at 600 E. Seventh St. has been converted into a modern space for the growing architecture firm led by Todd Stone.

“We did that intentionally to show off the new with the old,” he said.

Most of the space is an open area that can seat 10 employees.

“We’re trying to bring in natural light and create a building that brings the outdoors in with color and greenery, so you don’t feel like you’re working in a dark, dreary building,” Stone said.

While the main floor is modern, upstairs harkens back to the building’s more than 100-year history, which includes serving as a fire station.

“It has the old woodwork, and we were trying to embrace that woodwork and design around the firemen lockers,” Stone said.

His employees occupy two of the offices, and another is rented to an engineer. That leaves one office available, which Stone envisions as a potential co-working area.

It’s 575 square feet and could accommodate up to five desks. One already is leased to an engineer and four more are available. Those could be rented to individuals or small businesses.

“It’s a shared office environment, so they can use the big conference room on the first floor and whatever else they need,” Stone said. “There are restrooms on both levels and open collaborative areas on both levels, and all utilities are included.”

Once the weather allows, there will be upgrades made to the exterior with more landscaping, parking and a patio.

“We’re happy,” Stone said. “The end result is exactly what we anticipated and even better.”